Zora and the Hibernauts

By Fernando FernÃ¡ndez (Catalan Communications)
ISBN: 978-0-87416-001-7

Multi-disciplinary Spanish artist Fernando FernÃ¡ndez began working to help support his family at age 13 whilst still at High School. He left in 1956 and immediately began working for British and French comics publishers. In 1958 his family relocated to Argentina and whilst there he added jobs for El GorriÃ³n, TÃ³tem and PuÃ±o Fuerte to his ongoing European and British assignments for Valentina, Roxy and Marilyn.

In 1959 he returned to Spain and began a long association with Fleetway Publications in London, producing mostly war and girls’ romance stories.

During the mid-1960’s he began to experiment with painting and began selling book covers and illustrations to a number of clients, before again taking up comics work in 1970, creating a variety of strips (many of which found their way into US horror magazine Vampirella), the successful comedy feature ‘Mosca’ for Diario de Barcelona and educational strips for the pubshing house Afha.

Becoming increasingly experimental as the decade passed, FernÃ¡ndez produced ‘Cuba, 1898’ and ‘CÃrculos’ before in 1980 beginning his science fiction spectacular ‘Zora y los Hibernautas’ for the Spanish iteration of fantasy magazine 1984 which was eventually seen in English in Heavy Metal magazine. His later graphic spectacles include ‘Dracula’ for the Spanish iteration of Creepy, mediaeval fantasy thriller ‘La Leyenda de las Cuatro Sombras’ (working with Carlos Trillo), ‘ArgÃ³n, el Salvaje’ and a number of adaptations of Isaac Asimov tales in ‘Firmado por: Isaac Asimov’ and ‘Lucky Starr – Los OcÃ©anos de Venus’.

His last comics work was ‘ZodÃaco’ begun in 1989, but his increasing heart problems soon curtailed the series and he returned to painting and illustration. He passed away in August 2010, aged 70.

The stunning adult epic Zora and the Hibernauts exploits classic science fiction themes of sexual politics to explore the perceived role and character of men and women and opens, after a truly breathtaking biography and gallery section, with the first staggeringly lush chapter as, far into the future, warrior-women from the artificial moon Honeycomb (home to the censorious, draconian colony of the Sisterhood) land on the deadly and biologically inimical planet Earth searching for lost technology and other objects of interest or value.

The crew is led by the competent Zora, a space veteran who has won the love and devotion of her crew through years of sterling service. The ancient birthplace of humanity has long been quarantined: a pestilential hell-hole where radiation and disease have created unspeakable horrors, but the explorers have no idea what shocks await their first forays into the unknown landscape they call Terra-Luneâ€¦

The search goes badly and crew-women are lost to plants, beasts and things which qualify as both and neither, but Zora is intent on finding some specific unknown treasure. Meanwhile, back on Honeycomb, scientist Nylea breaks the Queen’s taboo and searches the ancient archives for proscribed information on the extinct creature once called â€œmanâ€â€¦

On Terra-Lune the invaders have broached a long-hidden chamber and found six hibernation pods from before the Earth diedâ€¦

They contain frozen men and Zora, defying orders and centuries of custom, decants and revives the perfectly preserved creatures rather than destroy them, setting herself on a path that will lead to civil war and the restoration of the natural orderâ€¦

She is strangely drawn to one of the men: Astronaut Commander Amon, who holds crucial knowledge of the fall of humanity and whose presence stirs the quizzical Zora in ways she doesn’t understandâ€¦

Taking her prizes back to Honeycomb where they are interviewed by Supreme Sister Rasam, Zora is ordered to keep the hibernauts in personal custody, but isn’t surprised when Nylea informs her that the queen is planning to destroy her and the men who threaten the hegemony and beliefs of the all-female, in vitro parthenogenetic culture.

Following a brutal battle, Zora, Nylea and the males take refuge on toxic Terra-Lune where they encounter another man: an incredible immortal named Rob who has survived on the poisoned planet for uncounted ages and aids the fugitives when the Sisterhood ships come hunting themâ€¦

Escaping the stalkers, the refugee band hides deep within the horror-world and inevitably Zora and Amon perpetrate an act of love not seen on Earth for millennia, after which Rob reveals the location of a fully-functioning ancient starship and offers them a means of fighting back against the tyranny of Rasam.

But whilst Rob relates the secret of his incredible longevity, on Honeycomb long-suppressed antagonisms begin to re-emerge.

Terra-Lune still holds many threats and horrors however, and whilst the outcasts battle for survival against beasts and monstrous sub-men on the debased planet, a deadly civil war erupts on the artificial satellite led by ambitious hardliner and second-in-command Sharta. By the time Zora and her followers are ready to attack Rasam, Honeycomb is in the midst of civil warâ€¦

Just when events are their most fraught, the universal implications of the struggle are revealed when a god-like timeless entity appears, disclosing Zora’s cosmic importance and that her womb now carries the first naturally conceived and developing human baby in thousand of years. Zora has been chosen by the higher powers of the universe to restore and perpetuate the human speciesâ€¦

The grand concepts come thick and fast in Zora and the Hibernauts and although the narrative is a little muddled in consequence, this breathtaking yarn delivers fast paced, action-packed, staggeringly beautiful and astoundingly exciting adult science fiction thrills in the tradition pulp manner. Being Spanish, however there’s a slight tinge of macho, if not subverted sexism, on display and of course, there is extensive female nudity throughout – so much so that by half-way through you won’t even notice…

If naked bald women are liable to offend you, give this as miss, but for all the normal red- blooded fans out there this is a superb tale by a master craftsman you’ll certainly want to track down and savour.

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